A
sunny and adventurous trip to base camp via the
Rongbuk monastery: Xegar,
next to Lhasa the largest city in Tibet, first
achieved fame and glory in the 16th century as the
residence of the second highest ranking religious
leader, the Panchen Lama, and the monastery Tashilüpno
is still regarded as one of the most beautiful
places of worship in Tibet. Once 3500 monks, today
800 devote themselves to their religion there. The
compounds complexity, the beauty of the buildings,
and the diversity of the architecture appeals even
to us mountain freaks.

Following
our visit, we continue on through a sandy and
desert-like landscape which reflects the interplay
of the sun and the clouds in the most beautiful
brownish hues. The higher our path winds to the ...
pass, the more barren the landscape becomes. And
then, on top of the mountain pass: in the distance,
dominating above soft, and gradient brown chains of
hill tops, edgy, the mother of all goddesses, Chomolungma,
in Nepal the Queen Mom, Sagarmatha, or in plain
English, Mount Everest. Adjacent to the West die
known heights of Cho Oyu and to the East
Lhotse and Makalu - together a white wall of summits
very reminiscent of the Alps, yet unmistakably
different and non-comparable in height and mass and
thus imposing. The tension is palpable, a positive
anxiety spreads, excitement is expressed, unbelievable,
the view. We linger, look, imprint the image on our
minds, enjoy the incredible vista which is laid out
before us under a cloudless sky and clear
visibility. Now, that we've seen our goal, the
next stage - the life on the mountain - becomes an
object of joy.

After
the night in New Tingri, another wonderful day with
yet a new climax follows: in rough terrain with a
Land Cruiser, we close in on base camp. The
landscape, interrupted by small settlements, is once
again reason for great enjoyment, and the blue sky
and bright sun enhance our euphoric mood. Then, just
before base camp: a breathtaking view of the entire
mass of the mountain, no cloud, clear skies,
beautiful, just simply wonderful, and the Rongbuk monastery
in the foreground. Here, face to face with the
mountain, we realize the adventure, the enormous
task, the great and distant goal we have chosen. But
a few minutes, and we reach base camp. With friendly
smiles, out Sirdar Dorjee and his crew greets us,
and soon warm fruit juice clears our dusty throats.
Our small city of tents - well placed, with brand
new, yellow, North Face tents lined up in two rows,
with a tent to cook, east and shower, and even a
tent as an internet cafe - is ready to be populated;
we hardly get to identify our luggage, which has
been shipped here in March via Kathmandu, and claim
a tent, when the table is set for dinner. After days
of Chinese food the fabulous meal satisfies us a
great deal. Obviously, Kari has taken care of
everything and makes us feel home, with all but
Biccoflexbeds and flush toilets. Michèle
Mérat

April
23, 2002: Preparations in base camp with a first and a second
group to ABC: Weather:
mostly sunny with afternoon winds, warmer.

Sunshine
warms the tents around 7.45am, and packed in soft
sleeping bags during the cool night the heat quickly
becomes unbearable, and makes us jump out of the
tents in a heartbeat to suck in the sun's first
rays. While the days start with comfortable sunny
weather, soon an afternoon wind forces us inside the
tents for reading or killing time. The evening are
getting warmer, and our cold feet rarely require the
warm over socks, if at all. Our thick jackets
however still deliver a welcomed warmth, and some of
us wonder what it is going to be like up there.

After
five days of peace and quiet on one hand, and
acclimatisation climbs to 5500m and 6000m on the
other (Routes No. 5 and 3 on the attached map) -
latter a lovely and exhausting tour, first with
crampons across a wonderful frozen river with partly
steep rock banks, then along a valley to a hilltop
with a vista of the snowy heights - some of us feel
strong enough to tackle the first trip to Advance
Base Camp (ABC). The first group starts tomorrow,
April 17th, to intermediate camp at about 5700m,
which is a pit stop with full infrastructure on the
25km march to ABC. The following day, the group
continues and a second group starts out, while the
third remains in base camp. Sepp, a fanatic golfer
for the last six years, could not let his clubs
behind and included despite the weight restrictions
his 9 iron so he could take it to the summit of
Everest and swing a ball from there into a imaginary
hole in space. Whoever feels challenged has the
unique opportunity from April 15-16 2002 to join a
six-hole golf tournament in base camp on the North
Side of Everest, featuring attractive prices.
Probably a world record, the tournament finds many
players - many of which have never touched a golf
club. The height, the sandy conditions, the strong
wind and a tough course present a great challenge.
The results and winners will be announced in some of
the next reports. Michèle
Mérat